Team

We combine the diversity of talent and experience of our people to deliver best in class service and quality for our clients

Angella Rainford, CEO and Founder

Angella is the founder of Soleco and Rekamniar Frontier Ventures (“Rekamniar”). Rekamniar co-developed one of the largest solar plants in the Caribbean and the largest in Jamaica (51 MWp). Prior to this, Angella worked at Goldman Sachs in the Merchant Banking division (Principal Investment Area) in London and New York.

Prior to joining Goldman, she worked as part of the portfolio team at Sterling Stamos, a private investment management firm specialized in alternative and multi-asset investment solutions. She began her career as a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company in New York.

Angella has served as an advisor to Helios Investment Partners, a $3.0 billion private equity fund based in London focused on investments in Africa. She has also served on the Board of Directors for GK Capital Management, the financial advisory and investment arm of the GraceKennedy Group, and currently is a Director of PanJam Investment Limited, GK UK Foods, and JN Money Services, a subsidiary of the Jamaica National Building Society. Angella is also a Trustee of the Caribbean Board of The Nature Conservancy.

Angella holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge. She also graduated with a BA (magna cum laude) in Government from Harvard College.

Angella has travelled to 70 countries and lived on 3 continents. She is a keen motorcyclist, classical pianist, and has her private pilot license. She has also climbed 3 of the 7 summits.

Sam Rusbridge, Technical Specialist

Sam has 8 years of experience with renewable energy projects, specialising in solar photovoltaics and energy storage. As the Head of Energy Storage and previously Energy Yield Team manager at RINA Consulting (formerly OST Energy) he had technical oversight of over 2GW of energy yield analysis work on a broad range of solar power projects around the world.

He has worked as an Independent Engineer and project manager on technical due diligence for ~1GW of large scale ground mounted solar PV projects globally.  Additionally Sam has project managed due diligence and development support for over 500 million GBP of residential and commercial rooftop photovoltaic projects within the UK, encompassing EPC and O&M technical contract schedule drafting, technical design and component reviews, process evaluation, operational analysis and energy yield studies.   Sam has experience in all aspects of the project development process with extensive experience in advising investors on technical project risk; he is therefore well placed to advise on development risk and ensure bankability of projects. Sam holds a Master of Physics (MPhys) degree from the University of York.

He holds a BEng. in Construction Engineering from the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech). He describes himself as a puzzle-piecer and is an avid gym-goer. Fuelled by his passion for renewable energies, Sheldon envisions a world that is reliant on renewables as the main energy source.

Sheldon Wynter, Project Development Associate

Sheldon is the Project Development Associate at Soleco Energy. During his nine years of experience in project engineering and management, Sheldon was instrumental in the completion of over 18 major projects. Previously, he worked as Project Engineer at Total Jamaica Limited, where he spearheaded the completion of several multi-million dollar projects, including the construction of Jamaica’s first solar-powered service station. 

Prior to this, he worked at N.O. Whyte and Associates Ltd. where his project engineering skills were cemented through his role as Design Engineer. In the pool of projects completed, was the Port Antonio, Water, Sewage, and Drainage Project stage 1, which was awarded Project of the Year in 2015 by the Jamaica Institute of Engineers (JIE). 

He holds a BEng. in Construction Engineering from the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech). He describes himself as a puzzle-piecer and is an avid gym-goer. Fuelled by his passion for renewable energies, Sheldon envisions a world that is reliant on renewables as the main energy source.

Jordon Hayles, Project Development Analyst

Jordon is a Project Development Analyst at Soleco Energy. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus in the Class of 2020 earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Power Engineering with Honours.

He was one of ten youth across the Caribbean selected in the first cohort of the Regional Energy Apprenticeship Programme (REAP): an initiative under the Technical Assistance Programme for Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean. Through the REAP he was placed at the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency where he worked as an Energy Systems Engineer Associate, Supply-Side on the Integrated Resource and Resilience Planning Team. He supported the development of specialized analytical plans that help to determine optimal development paths for the power sector of various CARICOM Member States. Prior to that he worked at Mona-Tech Engineering Services Limited’s LNG fueled Combined Heat and Power plant that provides The UWI Mona Campus with electricity and cooling.

Jordon’s paper, “A Convolutional Neural Network Based Robust Automated Real-Time Image Detection System for Personal Protective Equipment”, has been published in the West Indian Journal of Engineering.

Sandrine Vivès-Rotger, Head of Administration

Sandrine is the Administrative Head of Soleco. Previously, she held positions supporting senior executives in Merchant Banking at Goldman Sachs for 18 years. Prior to working at Goldman Sachs, Sandrine also supported senior executives at L’Oréal and worked in publishing and import / export industries. She is also involved with Greenhouse Sports, a London charity that uses inspirational sports coaching and mentoring to engage young people and improve their life chances.  

Sandrine is a keen traveller, photographer and a qualified swimming coach.

Stephen B. Facey, CD

Mr. Stephen Facey is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PanJam Investment Limited.  He has over 35 years of experience in architecture, real estate development and management, and private equity investing.

Mr. Facey holds a B.A. in Architecture from Rice University and an M.Arch from the University of Pennsylvania.  He is the Chairman of Jamaica Property Company Limited, Kingston Restoration Company Limited and the New Kingston Civic Association.

Mr. Facey leverages his expertise through PanJam’s investments in real estate.  In 2012, PanJam invested in the special purpose vehicle created to develop a Courtyard by Marriott in New Kingston, the first international-branded hotel constructed in the area in 30 years.  Currently, PanJam is redeveloping the former Oceana hotel in Downtown Kingston.

Mr. Facey is the Chairman of the C.B. Facey Foundation, the charitable arm of PanJam.

Mr. Facey is also the Chairman of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute and the New Castle Group of Companies.  He is a Director of Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited, Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited, Chukka Caribbean Adventures Limited, the Jamaica Developers Association and the National Gallery of Jamaica, and a Trustee of the Institute of Jamaica.

The Hon. Douglas Orane, CD, JP, Hon. LLD

The Hon. Douglas Orane joined GraceKennedy Ltd in 1981, as Corporate Planner and held several senior leadership positions throughout the Group culminating in his appointment as CEO of GraceKennedy Limited from 1995. In 1998 he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and held the position of Chairman & CEO of the Company until his retirement as CEO in 2011 when he assumed the transitional position of Executive Chairman until June 30, 2012. He served as non-executive Chairman of the Board of the Company from July 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013 when he stepped down from that position. Mr. Orane retired as a member of the Board of the Company in July 2018.

An engineer by training, Mr. Orane holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Glasgow University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School where he earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration. He was appointed a Baker Scholar, an honour reserved for those placing within the top 5% of the graduating class.

In 2002, the Jamaican Government named him a Commander of the Order of Distinction (C.D.) in recognition of his contribution to commerce and the private sector. In 2009, he was appointed to Jamaica’s Privy Council by Governor General, Sir Patrick Allen.

He continues in the philanthropic footsteps of previous GraceKennedy Chairmen, lending his active support to the company’s programmes for inner-city residents and youth, and to strengthening educational institutions at all levels throughout the country. He is a Trustee of his alma mater Wolmer’s Schools, and is passionately involved in fundraising and infrastructural improvements for the Wolmer’s Trust. He reserves time for mentoring young people in life skills and entrepreneurship. He enjoys international travel to garner new ideas, and to cheer for our Jamaican athletes at international meets.

Andrew Reicher

Andrew Reicher serves on the investment committees of Berkeley Energy, Catalyst Principal Partners and Energy Access Ventures Fund and has a personal portfolio of angel investments in 18 early stage energy access and rural livelihood businesses in Africa. Andrew has 30+ years of private equity investment and 10+ years of investment banking experience.

Andrew previously worked with the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) and the private equity firm Actis when it was spun out of CDC, as the Chief Investment Officer, Head of the first Actis Infrastructure Fund, and later as the CEO of Globeleq; the wholly owned electricity generation company operating in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He then headed the secretariat of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, a multilateral organization working to increase private sector investment in infrastructure in the emerging markets of Africa and Asia. Prior to CDC, Andrew worked with Credit Suisse First Boston, Botts & Company and Citigroup.

He has a B.A. in Economics from Cambridge University, and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Oliver Soper

Oliver was the co-founder of OST Energy, an engineering consultancy specializing in renewable energy. OST advised on over 30GW of solar, wind and biomass renewable energy projects in over 25 countries across the world with offices on every inhabited continent. In 2015, OST Energy was purchased by Rina Consulting S.P.A. where Oliver holds an advisory position.

He was also the Co-founder of successful project development companies Low Carbon Farming, Sun and Soil Ltd, and Energy Reservoirs who have developed 21 major renewable energy, low carbon commercial greenhouses, and battery storage projects within the UK.

Oliver has a thorough understanding of renewable energy project requirements at all stages of development and operation for each key stakeholder, and a clear comprehension of the market dynamics required for a renewable industry to scale successfully in a given geography. He is a skilled manager, director, and business expander, with sound experience leading and growing multi-disciplinary teams in multiple geographies.

Oliver has worked on a comprehensive range of power engineering projects across the world including; solar PV, utility battery storage, landfill gas, waste incineration, onshore and offshore wind, solar thermal, marine renewable technologies, combined cycle gas turbines, and coal-fired plant.

He holds a Master of Science in Renewable Energy Systems Technology and a Degree in Electrical Engineering.

Out of work, Oliver enjoys various outdoor activities, and eating and drinking with friends and family.